Once upon a time, there was a birth, then another birth.

Ethan, the boy, emerged weighing some seven pounds. Viet Baby, the books, are just as cute, dressed in colorful cardboard so tots can wrap their hands around them.

Give An Mai Nguy?n the credit for both — after becoming a mom for the first time, she brought to life the first ever U.S.-based company publishing bilingual children’s volumes in English and Vietnamese.

How did it happen? And what baby steps did she have to take?

Here’s what she had to say about the whole delivery:
I know it started when you went to the library to look for books for your son...

Viet Baby came literally right after I experienced childbirth. I had just left my job as a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, gotten married and moved to Las Vegas, and was sort of in this transition period in my life. Although I knew there were many Japanese, Korean and Chinese books in the literary marketplace and libraries, I was always bothered by the fact that there weren’t many books for Vietnamese American children.

Early one morning while feeding my son, the idea for the books suddenly came to me. I think I was so excited that I woke my husband up to tell him. With his support and encouragement, I started planning that very afternoon.

Starting a business isn’t easy. What were the big hurdles?

 I would say finding enough time in the day to fully devote to the new venture. My son was only 4 months old when I started the company, and since I was his primary caretaker, that meant I had to work on product development and business matters between feedings, during his naps or late at night. Other hurdles included learning about the technical aspects of the publishing industry, of which I had very little knowledge initially.

And the name — did it come to you in a flash?

In a way, the name did come in a flash that first morning. I wanted something catchy yet simple enough for people to remember.

What about putting the books together, page by page? How did you choose topics, besides the obvious ABCs? Who provided pictures? Who proofread it? Any market research involved?

There was a lot of thought put into every detail of the books. It was very important to me that the books have high-quality, board binding and vibrant pictures to be attractive to young audiences. Every picture was carefully selected to encourage association skills and stimulation. I wanted parents to be able to go beyond just reading the actual words/text, but also be able to use them as interactive tools by posing questions such as, “What color is the rabbit?” and “Where do leaves grow?”

As for choosing topics, for our first set of books in our “Let’s Learn Vietnamese” series, I wanted to start with basic subjects that every parent would want their child to know in Vietnamese — counting, colors, animals and the alphabet. I also had in mind non-Vietnamese speakers such as adoptive parents, significant others, travelers who could learn simple Vietnamese words from the books.

I was very fortunate to have the full support of both of my parents in this endeavor. My father is a renowned author in the Vietnamese community so it was a no-brainer to have him proofread the text. My mother also provided another keen eye for review.

Although there was no formal market research conducted, I did look at the demographics of our growing Vietnamese community and observed that there were a lot of second-, third-generation Vietnamese Americans in their late 20s and 30s who were having kids. Many of these individuals, I noticed, were either born and/or raised here in America and bilingual. In speaking to some of these parents, there seemed to be a strong desire to instill language and cultural awareness in their offspring.

How has reading played a role in your own life? Any significant experiences to share?

Reading has largely helped shape who I am today. I have very fond memories growing up in Orange County  (Calif.) of going to the library with my parents to check out books each week and later as a teenager, “hanging out” at the library after school. I have had the fortune to be able to live in many different places in my young adulthood and whenever I would move to a new city, one of the first places I would seek out would be the public library. That always gave me comfort, a home away from home of sorts.

Why is being bilingual crucial? Were you raised that way, and did you take Vietnamese-language classes when you were younger?

I don’t think we, as Vietnamese American adults, truly appreciate the value of being bilingual until we are much older. When you’re young and struggle with your cultural identity, you can’t see how speaking your mother tongue is important. When I visited Vi?t Nam for the first time in 2004 and was able to communicate (and be understood), that’s when I think I realized the true power of being bilingual. I also think it is extremely important to forge relationships and connect with elders or older generations, too. I must say that I am proud to be able to call up my grandparents and hold extended conversations with them in Vietnamese.

 I was raised in a bilingual environment. When I was young, my paternal grandmother lived with us and spoke only Vietnamese. I never took any formal Vietnamese classes, but my parents were cognizant to speak Vietnamese at home to my sister and me.

What does cultural literacy mean to you?

That’s an interesting term. I would say that it is more than just being able to physically speak or read a given language. One’s ability to read, write and speak a language transcends into a larger understanding of that culture, tradition and human experience. For example, Vietnamese is extremely contextual; it constantly amazes me that certain words in the Vietnamese language can captivate an exact feeling, emotion or description like no English word can. And to be able to understand a language in that specific way is to be culturally aware, as well.

Your strategy in selling your books now — what gets them noticed?

 We kicked off the launch of the books at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at UCLA earlier this year. There was a very positive response from readers of Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese ancestry, which was encouraging. Our primary sales conduit is through the Internet, via our Web site: www.viet-baby.com.

 I am really excited that several nonprofit organizations already have purchased our books to be used in their community-outreach programs. Many of these groups work in the areas of child development, early literacy and parenting support, so I am glad that the books can be used as a resource. Recently, the U.S. Department of Education’s National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition Web site added us as a recommended bilingual publisher.

Plans for future titles?

We’ll be adding more baby board books to our “Let’s Learn Vietnamese” series, but my personal goal is to have a fully illustrated storybook out soon.

An Mai Nguy?n
Age: 30
Birthplace: Newport Beach, Calif.
City of residence: Las Vegas
Education: Bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of Southern California and law degree from Southwestern University School of Law
Family: Husband Minh Nguy?n; son Ethan; parents Michelle Mai Nguy?n and Quang Xuân Nguy?n; sister Amy Nguy?n
Favorite children’s books: “The Very Hungry Catepillar” by Eric Carle; “Are You My Mother?” by P.D. Eastman; “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” by Judith Viorst; “Busy, Busy World” by Richard Scarry; “Spectacles” by Ellen Raskin; “The Mouse and the Motorcycle” by Beverly Cleary; and “of course,” she says, the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.
Favorite adult authors: Amulya Malladi, Amy Tan, Jhumpa Lahiri, John Grisham and Jodi Picoult
If she were in charge of the local library, she would: “Visit local schools and sign every child up for a free library card. I just don’t think kids read enough these days, and many of them are unaware of the opportunities and treasures that are within the public library.”
How much does she spend on books per year? “I probably spend over a couple hundred dollars, although I might add that  I am a firm supporter of my public libraries’ secondhand bookstore, where I can usually find bestsellers, interesting out-of-print books and magazines.”

What are readers saying about the development of young minds and Viet Baby?

"The single most important thing you can do for your baby’s brain and for your child’s brain is to read to them. We teach parents how to sit down with their babies and read to them, and it’s very, very easy to find books in English and Spanish, but we could not find anything in Vietnamese.

“For two years, we looked online and in Vietnamese bookstores. At a book fair at UCLA, one of our staff members came across Viet Baby, she brought them back to me and I thought, ‘Oh my God, they’re wonderful.’

“Right now we serve about 500 Vietnamese mothers each year, and for literacy, it’s so crucial to speak to someone in their first language because most of the moms are speaking Vietnamese to their babies, no matter how good their English may be. “

— Pamela Pimentel, registered nurse and executive director of MOMS, Maternal Outreach Management System, a nonprofit in Santa Ana, Calif., which ordered 200 sets of books. The group provides home visits, giving post-delivery guidance until a baby is one year old. 

 "My first reaction when I looked through the books was ‘This is so cool.’ I wish I had thought of these... Our son Kyan who is 9 months, LOVES flipping through books. Since we want our son to be bilingual, we talk to him in both Vietnamese and English and the baby books are a good reinforcement.
“Our strategy in teaching the importance of reading to Kyan is to start early! And to make reading fun... We want reading to be natural and enjoyable and not make it an activity that is allotted only a certain amount of time at a certain time of day.”

  — Tú-Uyên Nguy?n, assistant research scientist at the Center of Community Alliance for Research & Education at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, Calif.